JAKE DENNIS TAKES POLE FOR FIRST TOKYO NIGHT RACE
Jake Dennis will start from Julius Baer Pole Position for the first Tokyo night race in Formula E after winning a close qualifying session on the Japanese street circuit. The Andretti driver secured his third pole position of the season by defeating Edoardo Mortara in the Final Duel, with just 0.052 seconds separating the two.
The qualifying session started with the group stages, where Dennis immediately showed strong pace. In Group A, the Andretti driver set the fastest time with a 1:13.719, followed by Nico Müller, who also secured a place in the Duels. Nick Cassidy and Taylor Barnard completed the top four and progressed to the knockout stages.
Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein missed out on the Duels after finishing fifth in Group A. The Porsche driver will start ninth, while Nissan had a difficult session at its home race. Oliver Rowland ended the group in eighth after making mistakes on his lap, losing his previous record of always qualifying on the front row in Tokyo. Felipe Drugovich was unable to take part after his Andretti car was heavily damaged in a crash during FP2.
In Group B, António Félix da Costa topped the session for Jaguar, followed closely by Edoardo Mortara in the Mahindra. Jean-Éric Vergne qualified third but was investigated after the session for impeding Zane Maloney, while Dan Ticktum took the final place in the Duels.
The other championship contender, Mitch Evans, also struggled during qualifying. The Jaguar driver was unhappy with his tyre performance and car setup, finishing eighth in Group B and missing the knockout stages alongside Wehrlein and Rowland.
The Duels began with Nico Müller facing Nick Cassidy in the opening quarter-final. The Porsche driver delivered a strong lap to move into the next round, while Jake Dennis followed by defeating Taylor Barnard and securing his place in the semi-finals.
Jean-Éric Vergne was unable to continue his qualifying run after being beaten by Edoardo Mortara, while António Félix da Costa completed the semi-final lineup after defeating Dan Ticktum.
The semi-finals brought the first major drama of the session when Nico Müller crashed into the barriers at Turn 11 during his duel with Jake Dennis. The Porsche driver was unharmed, but the incident caused a red flag and left Dennis without an opponent for the rest of the duel. The Andretti driver still set a lap time to guarantee his place in the Final.
In the other semi-final, Mortara continued his impressive qualifying performance by defeating da Costa and reaching the final against Dennis.
The Final Duel was a close battle between Dennis and Mortara. The Mahindra driver looked set for pole position after gaining two tenths of a second in the opening sector, but a small mistake in the final part of the lap allowed Dennis to recover the gap. The Andretti driver crossed the line with a 1:11.863, beating Mortara by just 52 thousandths of a second.
António Félix da Costa will start third for Jaguar, with Nico Müller classified fourth despite his crash. Taylor Barnard, Dan Ticktum, Jean-Éric Vergne and Nick Cassidy complete the remaining Duel positions.
The result gives Dennis an important advantage ahead of the first Tokyo E-Prix night race, while all three championship leaders will start outside the front rows. Wehrlein will line up ninth for Porsche, Rowland 15th for Nissan and Evans 16th for Jaguar as the title fight enters another crucial stage.
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